Little Man moves in

Meet Little Man. He's our new horse and will be moving in Friday, March 26th.

Bob and I have wanted horses for several years but never found the time nor the right horse. That is until ... Monday. Jordan, my goat-helping-angel, mentioned that Little Man was for sale, thank you very much. The voice inside my head screamed, "Little Man! For sale!"

I remembered that husband Bob had ridden Little Man, a TWH, a while back during a visit with our vet Amy and her family. Bob and Amy rode her horses in a nearby field while the rest of us stayed in the shade.
 
Following his ride on Little Man, Bob was aglow for days, babbling about how smooth the Walker's ride was. He had fallen in love with his smooth ride. We had to get this horse before anyone else did.


I immediately called Bob to tell him that Little Man was for sale. I didn't know the facts yet but would keep him in informed. Then I talked to Amy about LM. She confirmed that he was for sale and told me the price. Without hesitation I said, "Fine, I'll take him." She asked if I was serious. "Well, of course. Does this price include delivery?"

She said that she could have him ready by Friday, if I could wait that long. Hey, it's better she come to closure by preparing him, than me rushing in. "Fine," I said. After all, health checks and current records are important.

Minutes later I called Bob back to let him know that LM would be delivered sometime Friday. Wonderful, we had wanted horses for so long, now we were getting one that we had been introduced to. Another dream is coming true.

I'll keep you posted on our progress. We have much to learn and Little Man is the horse who can do it.

Check out the view

Welcome to the arbor view. Getting the arbor up took a few years but it's there now and we love it. Isn't it nice when visions pan out.

I bought it about four years ago and had visions if it on the north side of the house. This side of the house is extremely windy so without exception every time we'd put it up, a wind would knock it down and into pieces. I got tired of rebuilding it so it just sat for a while.

Well, one thing lead to another ... rust set in just a weeeeee bit and the iron rods started warping. Sigh ... .

Welding it together was one answer and anchoring it was the other solution. Terrific! All I wanted to do is have a nice arbor leading to the secret garden. Now I've got a bigger project.

You can hardly see the welding spots and the crooked lines make it look more Art Nouveau-ish

We have so many projects out here it's hard to keep up with them. At least we were smart enough to not put a time line to all our projects. After all, the goats and soaps come first.

Goat Garden Compost

The north pasture is closed right now because we're cleaning up THE poop pile. What a mess. Maybe we ought to clean it out more than once a year. But it stinks and no one is looking forward to working with it -- including me.

We clearly need a better solution to our barn waste management. Maybe turning it into a compost. That might work.

But the main use for it will be our new garden. Yup, we're going to build a garden so the barn poop can enrich our veggies.

The two pictures show the site we've chosen. That red structure is our well house. So placing the garden in this field was a natural decision.

I'll keep you posted on our progress so please check back.

Dealing with goat barn waste

The goats got their hay in their back pasture yesterday. Those guys are barn sour.Of course the weather hasn't helped any either. But they just MUST get out of that barn.

My regret is that we don't have a feeder in that pasture so I had to toss their hay on the ground. That isn't a good feeding practice because they'll more than likely poop in it then someone will eat the hay that's been on the poop. Yup, there goes the internal parasite infestation cycle -- again. We've worked so hard to keep the parasites down and I go and do this. Shame ... ! But I had to get them OUT of the barn.

Guess the hubster will be building a feeder for that pasture pretty soon so we can keep our little guys healthy. He's asleep right now so it's safe to write this. Come to think of it he asked if we needed a feeder in that pasture. What a guy!

Feed Plan for Sleeping Dog Ranch Nubians

For the most part we feed orchard/fescue grass every day as a supplement to grass. Ah ... we'll be reseeding this spring or as soon as it quits raining, which ever occurs first. Our pastures have been divided into goat management needs. For instance, our foundation does are with Bucky, our main buck. Then we have two up and coming new bucks that we wanted to test so one each has been pastured with three yearling does. Next we have four bucklings who need to grow more so they're by themselves. These groups get hay every day and receive medicated grain every other day.

Last but not least, our retired does, new babies, and a few wethers are in the back barn. This group gets plenty of hay and a bit of grass.

But above all, each and every goat has our free-feed supplements available at all times: minerals with copper, Kosher salt, baking soda, and Apple Cider vinegar and fresh water. When the water lines aren't frozen they're filled automatically. Otherwise, we (me and I) haul water out to them.

We frequently check everyone's eyes to make sure they're bright pink. Any less than that receive a Red Cell/ glycol cocktail based on their weight. Herd fecal tests are taken as needed based on their eye color or the rainy weather. Internal parasites are our biggest killers. So, we always on the lookout for trouble signs.

Parasite prevention is an every day affair

More wet weather. Terrific. My little goats haven't been out of the barn in months. Or, so it seems.

Goat don't do wet. Nor do they do well in wet weather. But staying in the barn isn't good for them either. We clean it as often as we can. But in wet weather, we end up putting the poop in a corner. Sometime they get into it; sometime they don't. Sigh ... we definitely need a better poop management process. I'm working on it.

Because of this wet weather, we've increased our parasite prevention. They're eating feed with Decoquinate (Deccox) in it. Deccox is a coccidiosis preventative. Coccidia is my greatest enemy when losing goats. Winter time or moist grounds increases their growth rate thereby increasing the odds of infecting goats. I have lost more goats in the winter than any other time of year. Each winter I say 'this year I won't lose anyone.' So far ... so good.

This year we started 'winterizing' everyone back in November. Everyone has been dewormed and vaccinated. Their eyes are nice and pink (see Famacha articles) and they have all the free-feed essentials: minerals (with copper), kosher salt, apple cider vinegar, and baking soda. Keeping them healthy with a strong immune system seems to be our best defense against parasites.

Sleeping Dog Ranch website now with Goat Milk Bath

After several years of maintaining two different websites, I've decided to incorporate Sleeping Dog Ranch Nubians with our Gran' Nanny's Goat Milk Soap website. Working with two sites was just too inefficient! KISS is a successful business strategy; staying on target requires constant monitoring. Hey, we're all about goats any way. One website is a natural progression.

If you use the www.SleepingDogRanch.com address, you'll be forwarded to our Gran' Nanny's Goat Milk Soaps masthead. Beneath the masthead is the navigation area, look for the Sleeping Dog Ranch Nubians button. Select it to go to our Goat Home site. It's masthead follows:

Once on the Sleeping Dog Ranch Nubian site, you can preview the goats for sale, our goat cart, pack goats, as well as a few barn activities.

Being a small business owner, new lessons show their faces every day. Having had our two businesses for six years now, we're continually improving our efficiency by adding a few services, streamlining our products, enlarging our facilities, and selling a few goats (very few goats). I'd rather find them good homes than sell them.

Being a better communicator is always a desirable trait. After all, we want our customers to know more about what we're doing. We really have two initiatives: We raise Nubian diary goats and make goat milk bath and beauty products with their milk.

It appears that another one of our lessons this year will center on sustainability. For example, how can we keep up this pace and for how much longer? To that end, I'm streamlining where ever possible. Combining the two websites is my first improvement.

I'll keep you posted on our successes.

Purebred Nubian Dairy Goats for Sale

Just put an ad on craigslist for purebred nubian goats for sale.

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/grd/1567956011.html

Our website has photos: www.SleepingDogRanch.com

check it out!

Freezing temperatures, internal parasites, and our goats

www.SleepingDogRanch.com

For the most part goats handle freezing temperatures quite well. That is, if they have shelter, food, water, and are healthy. Our focus for the past several months has been to boost their immune system, reduce their internal parasites as much as possible, and put a bit of weight on them for added insulation. Next we added a few heat lamps and several large dog houses so they could huddle together and keep each other warm.

So far they look fine. Our efforts are paying off. BUT ... winter is just beginning. We have to keep up these businesses practices throughout the winter so MAYBE we won't lose any body this winter.

We lost two breeding bucks last winter. Both had internal parasites and lost their battle against the winter weather. Coccidia and Barber Pole parasites have been our main killers so far. Maybe ... just maybe, we'll win this battle this season. I'll keep you posted.

Redesigning a coffee table

We have a square coffee table that extends into a major aisle where everyone can run into it. We're a busy family with four dogs, two humans, and two cats. With this mix of family members someone is always either chasing or being chased.

The table measures about 42 inches square and is about 18 inches high. Each corner has a drawer on it that is seldom used but we like the look. Although, we would gladly sacrifice one of the drawers to have one corner cut off.

In the first picture you can see the fireplace hearth; we want to open this aisle. In the second picture you can see that this aisle leads to the back door (a door that is used almost every 15 minutes. Or, it seems like that.)

I'm thinking that the sacrificed drawer face could be used on the cut off part for design continuity and new legs could be turned to match the existing legs. We'd like for the re-designed area to match as much of the existing table as possible.

The finish is a distressed white oak -- worn, very worn or ranch rustic. We're a working goat ranch and need tough stuff.

However, I eventually want to refinish this table to a turquoise washed effect because we are Native American fans and have decorated our home with many Native American artifacts.

Ah ... do you refinish furniture, as well?  If so, this piece and a dresser in the bedroom both need to be refinished in a turquoise wash effect.

I am open to design options if you have better ways of redesigning this table. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you about redesigning our table.

Did I mention that we got a barn cat?

The mice were running off with too much goat food, leaving too many nests, and otherwise terrorizing us ... flashing throughout the day and night. Brazen little hussies. Chewing parade halters and scaring the barn help is not nice! They had to go!

Mr. Dillon came from a friend's home who had just had their first grand baby and the cats were too much. Hey, I understand just 'too much.' I was happy to have him. Thank you.

His name is Mr. Dillon 'cause he's in charge of protecting all the food supplies in the big goat barn. We figured since he was marshaling the area, he needed an appropriate name. Mr. Dillon stayed in the barn for about a month, never leaving it and always greeting us at his food bowl. He was getting fat and the mice became scarce. Perfect!

Anyway, Mr. Dillon looked kinda lonely making his barn rounds by himself so I was on the lookout for a companion. Mother's apartment complex, for some reason, always had stray cats roaming around so I started looking their first.

Within the first week, the cutest kitten just walked right into my arms. Keeping within the theme of Dodge City, Mr. Dillon's new companion would be named either Festus or Ms. Kittie. Didn't know; didn't care. Mr. Dillon needed a companion.

Ms. Kittie is home from the vet stay (being spayed, of course). Now I had to contain her for 10 days so her stitches would heal. Terrific. Now the winter weather was settling in and the barn would be too cold for cats. (The goats would be fine in these temps but the cats would be too cold.)

Did I mention that we have two basement cats?

Bucky's Merry Christmas 2009 Injury

On December 23, 2009 our buck, Bucky, ripped several inches of skin off his shoulder. I had gone out to feed when I noticed that his shoulder was bloody. Upon closer inspection, I found that a strip on his shoulder about 10 inches long and from 2 to 4 inches wide was missing. AWK!!! MISSING!!! Bob and I searched everywhere for the missing hide but couldn't find it anywhere.

Needless to say, I was on the phone to our vet, Dr. Amy Betka. With goats, your vet should be on speed dial. She's a 7. We decided to take him to her hospital because it was about 20 degrees in the barn.

She sedated him then started sewing him back together. Yup, she found the skin. Luckily it was still attached but had folded under his skin.

Following are photos as of January 5, 2010.

Following her stitch-work, her instructions were to clean his wounds daily, give him antibacterial shots for seven days, then keep her posted on his recovery. Here we go ...

EVERYTHING is covered with a chlorhexidine-medicated salve to help keep his would clean. All-things chlorhexidine are wonderful. I say 'help' keep his wounds clean because, hey, it's breeding season and there are clearly no ends to which a buck will to go reach his does. Sigh ... .

On the shoulder part without skin, I thoroughly cleaned it daily with warm water and a surgical scrub, coated it with a heavy layer of salve, covered with gauze, then secured the gauze with a clever bandage devised by Dr. Betka. The strings you see are for a 'shoestring bandage' that helps hold the gauze cover the raw muscle. After covering the wound with gauze, I gently tie a shoestring criss-crossed over the bandage to hold it as securely as possible. It works! Well, most of the time he leaves it along.

His stitches look good; he has no fever, and his energy level is as high as ever.

Bucky has been our main buck for years and although this is his first/only major injury, we've decided to nurture a few more bucks as replacements. He's given us several handsome boys that are vying for the job.

Yes, we're late in the breeding season but health first is our motto. Besides, I prefer late spring babies anyway. I like that the babies will be inside their mama during the LAST frost.



Happy New Year,
Pat Allen

Hole In The Net: Finally with my family!

Hole In The Net: Finally with my family!

Happy Holidays from the Critters at the Sleeping Dog Ranch Nubians

Whew! That was close but ALL the custom orders have been shipped and will be received for the Holidays. Making those custom orders was a whole lot of fun.

It's exciting when you care enough about our products to give them as gifts for your friends. We are humbled and honored. Thank you for the opportunity.

Happy Holidays from all the critters at Gran’ Nanny’s Goat Milk Soaps.

Breeding Season Approaches

It's that time of year again. Breeding Season! I know this without looking at a calendar. The bucks are pacing up and down the fence line, peeing on their faces, and grunting with an exaggeration you hear only this time of year.

The does, on the other hand, aren't helping. They're wailing like cry babies, strutting their stuff along the fence lines (driving the boys crazy), and otherwise being obnoxious.

I chose this line of work as a profession only AFTER having completed graduate school NOT in the animal sciences. My graduate work was for me. I needed to know I could do it and do it well. But once you learn how to learn, you can tackle any task.

This learning task wasn't a curve but a spike for the first few years. You know you've growing as a breeder when you don't have to call your vet every time someone gets hurt or bleeds, or needs annual shots because YOU know what to do. But it's nice knowing she's a phone call away.

So why do I do this? I'm passionately in love with my goats and their milk. Goat milk is nectar from the Gods. Besides being delicious, its beneficial properties are almost endless.

Birthing the babies every spring is exhilarating. Observing the bonding between mom and babies, ignites a flame within me that warms the entire barn.

Watching the babies grow, identifying the best confirmation and future breeders impacts our herd's integridity beyond measure. We're getting closer to producing the goat confirmation that I like. Imagine that! Being able to do that is truly a miracle.

So from not knowing how to milk to breeding goats for a specific look/confirmation is quite an acomplishment for this city girl.

Several pictures have been uploaded to our website for your preview.

Family is always first

Family is still the most important thing in the world to me. Like many of us, I lose sight of this from time to time: Thinking of my businesses, dogs, cats, chickens, goats, milking, laundry, and other day-to-day tidings.

Absentmindedly focusing only on the now and could be, I was immediately reminded of family when I received a call from the manager of my mother’s apartment wanting to know what happened last night. That's a scary question coming from anyone but from where my mother lives, it became a sharp, significant concern. As the story unfolded I became acutely aware that mother could no longer live alone. She's 86 and has dementia.

For the past four years, she has been surrounded by wonderful people. Neighbors who dropped by for a chat, visited for a few minutes, took turns checking on her, calling her to see how she was doing, and offering to do something to help. Many kept her company until her next nap or the next football game came on TV. Thank you all for what you have meant to mother. But a time comes with neighbors can no longer provide the care and concern that is needed. It is time for family.

I received my call this morning. By the time I arrived at her apartment, the nightly puzzle began fitting together. Mother is getting more confused in the evenings than during the day. Her frequent falls aren't helping either. Sometime she doesn't remember falling much less remember whether she's taken her pills or not.

She took the wrong sleeping pill last week. I so carefully counted each and every pill as I put them in the her weekly organizer but she managed to pick out the pill she wanted to help her sleep. Trouble is that it was a strong pill. We decided to let her sleep it off while we talked about increasing our care. We hovered over her for three days. She's fine -- just confused and forgetful.

She's home with me now so I can watch her more carefully. Between the four dogs and our alarm system, we'll know where she is every minute of the day.

Mother is taking a nap now but when she awakens, will she remember where she is. Apparently dementia strikes in the blink of an eye as her memory fades and she becomes confused. I’ve seen a bit of it in her but I suspect her confusion will increase. Hopefully slowly but it will increase.

I’ll continue producing my goat milk bath products whenever possible. But please know that when mother calls, I will be with her.

Prayers are most appreciated.

Dehorning season has begun

I still haven't decided which is the best technique to use when it comes to removing horns from our babies. In the past I've disbudded when they were 5 days old with a iron. That takes time to learn how to use and the babies are taumitized for about 10 seconds.

This year I thought I'd try cutting them off after the babies were about six months old (in the fall or winter so there will be no flies). Well, yesterday was our first day. Mind you, I have never done this before. (Like so many things out here this, too, is a learning spike.) The first horn I cut was at a slant. Terrific. Now we have to fix that. OK, I clearly need more instruction. Off to the vet we go ... .

Dr. Betka removed horns from three of the four little boys. Jordan and I got our lesson on the fourth little guy. Oh, she makes it look so easy. sigh ... .

Anyway, the boys were so bloody that we left them at the vet's office for about three hours so the blood would dry. They're home now, bloody faces and all. We'll start cleaning them up as soon as we can catch them again. They're a little sensitive right now; and, did I mention mad at me?

I might get within camera range. IF they let me take pictures, I'll upload a few.

Seeing how this process is going, I'm not sure how I'll do this next season. We'll see how dehorning the rest of the babies goes. Check back ...

God's Country Outfitters Albemarle, NC Oct 3 2009

We had a delightful time at GCO's festival: donated products to hospice for their auction, met customers, spent the day OUTSIDE in the fresh air, and got to play with our little goat, Natalie.

Kids of all ages came to 'pet the goat'. Many folks said they came by looking for the crying baby when they noticed that the sound led them to a GOAT. Imagine their surprise!

I'm amazed at how many folks had goats in their youth. Love your stories! Yes, goats are truly amazing creatures.

Natalie wasn't in Jordan's lap all day. It just looks that way. But this time Jordan didn’t leave Natalie’s side. (Thanks Jordan) At the Badin Festival Natalie had a meltdown when she ran into a metal chair trying to get away from several children who came running to pet her. My back was turned working with customers when I heard the metal chair fall and ruckus.

NOTE: Hey guys, you scared the baby! Remember, she’s a baby (only six months old). Parents: Please ask your children to approach the goat slowly so she’ll be curious and want to approach them. I know, easier said than done. When I was their age, I ran everywhere, too.

Anyway, the rodeo happened so fast we just waited for the ride to settle down so we could help everyone relax and untangle themselves. No one got hurt. Everything worked out well and Natalie settled down quickly. Lessons learned: Keep a closer eye on the goat.

Natalie is a professional now. She’s attended two festivals where folks came to see her and pet her. She’s a real show-off, full of herself and absolutely wonderful.

Nope, she’s not for sale but a few of her herd mates are. Some goats are forever-goats; Natalie is one of them. She's a lap-goat for now but soon, very soon, she'll outgrow Jordan's lap. Hang in their Jordan.

Sour Mouth Within Goat Herd

In the general scheme of things, I'm relatively new to goat breeding. My first two goats arrived in the fall of 2003 (or there 'bouts). You can imagine how steep the learning curve was! Well, we lost the first two ladies to tetanus; a devastating disease and sure death – no recovery – slam their dead! I'm amazed at how quickly/easily these little guys die; but, that's another story.

Now, I panic whenever anyone sneezes, coughs, has diarrhea, doesn’t eat, or separates herself from the herd. Coccidia are another red flag, but, again; that’s another story.

The first time I saw sore mouth I thought ugh what now. It’s a good thing I have a wonderful vet. Anyway, I called her and described the sores on Willie’s mouth. She calmly explained that sore mouth was a virus, it’s highly contagious, can limit the goat’s ability to eat because the sores are painful, and nothing can be done about it. You just ride it out. Noooooooooooo, I didn’t want to hear that.

We have to do something! All of my boys are at risk now. Do you have any idea how hard it is to do nothing! Sigh … .

No, I was going to do something! But what? I could catch sour mouth. I could spread it to the dogs! This thing is nasty! To top it off, Willie was in rut. That in and of itself is nasty (rut is when the boys come into ‘season’ and attract the ladies by peeing on their face; I’m not a goat, don’t see the romance here, but the goat ladies love it.)

Quarantine. I’ll quarantine them! A quarantine area is an absolute must on a goat ranch! Once you have a designated quarantine area, you will love it. A quarantine area is a space where no noses can touch; where no sneeze splatters can reach anyone else; well lit, good ventilation, and where the entire space can be sanitized.

Now, what do I use for sanitization? That depends on the cause for quarantine. My favorite sanitization tool is fire but you really have to be careful with this one. Clorox is good, but by all means check with your vet.

Well, my vet was right, again, (thanks Dr. Amy) we all made it through Willie’s sour mouth, no one else got it, and Willie is doing fine. We figure the sour mouth came from an outside goat that I had purchased a while back. At the time I hadn’t heard of sour mouth (rookie). Sigh again, since we’re going to certain issues as long as we have goats, the quarantine area seems to be a ‘requirement’.

Concrete floor, washable walls, good ventilation, fresh water, close to the ranch clinic, and isolated from the herd. Just what you needed, another project.

Happy Goating!
I’ll get ready for the next story …

Goat Milk Bath and Beauty at Badin Festival

Festival season is always my favorite time of year. We attend as many local events as we can because they are so much fun. I get to meet you and talk with you about your skin care needs; and thankfully, many of you share your beauty care regimes with me. Skin care is important to all of us, at any age.

Most of these venues allow us to bring a goat so we double our fun.

This year we brought Natalie. She's five months old and was a perfect lady. We didn’t know how she would react because this is the first time she’s been off the ranch. She met oodles of new friends who wanted to pet her and even allowed a baby to play with her ears – for a moment. However, when she did get stressed, she jumped onto Jordan's lap. Yup, Jordan was a busy lady, too. Natalie was exhausted and slept all the way home.

A special 'thank you' goes to Jordan's friend, Mia, who helped with the soaps and the goat. Mia, you made our event even more fun and stress-free. Thank you for being with us.

Our goat milk bath soaps and beauty lotions were received very well. Thank you for all your comments and suggestions. As usual the favorite essential oil aroma was lavender. I'll make more lotion today.

Lemon was introduced as our newest soap and coordinating lotion. Most folks liked it for its citrus sensation and agreed that it would feel tingly on their toes.

I'm working on our festival schedule and will publisher it as soon as it's more organized.

Thank you for coming by our booth. It was fun to see how many of you used the magic word and received a free soap sample. Be on the lookout for the next magic word so you can get your next free soap sample.

Happy soaping, Pat